Leaf-eating Pests
Wear Gala Furs or
Convict Stripes
->The Tussock Moth gets its
name from the four tufts of
short, erect white hairs on the
back of its caterpillar. Bundles
of long black fibers project
from either side of the larva's
head. Here the left bundle
appears short because it points
vertically upward. A third
cluster ornaments the tail.
In its larval stage the moth
chews tree leaves to skeletons,
but insect enemies help control
it. The adult moth ranges the
eastern United States and Can
ada west to Colorado and
British Columbia.
+These caterpillars, collected
in the Bahamas, quickly de
voured the amaryllis leaves
that the author gathered for
their feed. The larvae evolve
into pink and black moths,
Xanthopastis timais, found
generally in the region of Flor
ida and the Gulf coast and
from the West Indies south to
Brazil.
Kodachromes by Paul A. Zahl